Fish cleaning involves removing the skin, bones and entrails from the edible meat portions of a fish preparatory to freezing or cooking the meat for ultimate consumption. The fish cleaning operation is commonly accomplished using an electric knife (also known as a “fillet knife”). A conventional electric knife includes a trigger-, button- or switch-operated electric knife handle having at least one blade slot which receives at least one typically serrated cutting blade. A blade reciprocating mechanism inside the knife handle engages the cutting blade or blades and facilitates reciprocation of the blade or blades typically as the trigger, button or switch on the knife handle is depressed or otherwise manipulated. Accordingly, each reciprocating cutting blade cuts the fish open for removal of the entrails as well as to remove the skin from the meat and the meat from the bones of the fish during cleaning.
Prior to cleaning a fish, it may be necessary or desirable to remove scales from the skin of the fish. A fish may be scaled using a conventional manual fish scaling tool, which may include a shaft or handle fitted with a curved blade. The shaft or handle is gripped and repeatedly moved in a back-and-forth motion as the blade is pressed against the scales such that the blade cuts or dislodges the scales from the skin of the fish. Prior to the cleaning operation, the loose scales may be washed from the skin of the fish.
One of the drawbacks associated with conventional manual fish scaling tools is that the tools are laborious to use, particularly if numerous fish require scaling and cleaning during the cleaning operation. Scales which should be removed from the fish are often missed during scaling. Moreover, the manual fish scaling tool and the electric knife which is typically used to clean the fish are separate devices, requiring that the user keep track of two devices during the fish scaling and cleaning operation. Accordingly, a fish scaling assembly having at least one scale removing member which can be actuated using an electric knife handle is needed.